My Pet World: How do I get my dog to relieve himself in the backyard?
Dear Cathy,
We have a one-year-old Shih Tzu who refuses to relieve himself in our backyard. We are happy to walk him three times a day, but it is only sometimes possible due to weather and schedules. He will hold it in for a very long time until we walk him. Sometimes, I think this is unhealthy and wonder, is there any way to get him to go in the backyard on these occasions?
— Annette, Queens, New York
Dear Annette,
Whenever you train a dog to "sit," you must introduce "sit" in different locations for the concept to stick. It's the same thing when training a dog to relieve himself. Simply put, the walk is a pleasant habit where your dog learned to relieve himself. Now it's time to teach him to relieve himself in your yard.
Begin by walking him on a leash around your backyard during your normally scheduled walks. If you spend 20 minutes on a walk, spend 20 minutes walking him around the backyard. If he doesn't relieve himself, don't give up and take him for his regular walk.
Instead, take him into the house, wait 30 minutes, and repeat the leash-walking in the backyard. Do this throughout the day until he finally relieves himself. When he does, say "go potty" at the same time and use his reward word, like Bingo, to mark the behavior. When he’s done, give him a treat.
You also can pick up his poop from one of his regular walks and deposit it in your backyard to let him know it's okay to relieve himself there. Replace his first two daily walks with this activity, and take him for a walk as usual in the evening.
After a few days, take him into your fenced yard without a leash. Let him wander around the yard. If he relieves himself, implement the command, reward, and treat mentioned above. If he doesn't, bring him in after 10 minutes, and go back out with him an hour later. Repeat this process throughout the day until he finally relieves himself.
It may take a few days or weeks, but if you’re consistent, he should begin to understand what you want him to do.
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